


LOAD

by banjkazfan



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Female Frisk, Gen, Might not be graphic but it's tagged to be safe, SAVEs and LOADs, Temporary Character Death, Violence, could be a ship if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 02:52:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5480552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banjkazfan/pseuds/banjkazfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans and Frisk need to have a conversation about what makes it okay to LOAD.</p>
            </blockquote>





	LOAD

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea bouncing around and I managed to jot it down in a few hours. Unbeta'd, so please feel free to correct any mistakes you see (it's late and I'm tired).
> 
> This could be seen as a ship if you like, or it could be platonic. I left it open-ended for you to decide.
> 
> Edit: I never, ever expected to get over 200 kudos. Thank you all so very, very much!

Sans’ two biggest regrets happened on the same night.

The first was cutting through the dark park.  Normally it wasn’t an issue, as the park was generally considered to be neutral ground where monsters and humans could play together.  As of late, however, humans had been increasingly aggressive in trying to drive out the monsters and make them uncomfortable, and the area was no longer considered safe. 

But tonight, Sans had been trying to drag out their goodbye.

They had been walking together through the park, just laughing easily and enjoying each other’s company.  Frisk’s duties as ambassador for monsters often left her busy and with little time to herself.  It felt as if Sans hadn’t seen her in weeks, and he had missed his friend.  Now that Frisk was 15 and taller, it was easier for him to sling an arm around her and tug her close as they walked, free hand poking at her sides in an attempt to tickle her.  He loved the way she would laugh and swat at him, her eyes shut from laughing so hard.

But tonight, her laughter was cut short when someone stepped into their path.  A tall man with blonde hair stood there, watching the two of them almost in disgust.  Sans froze momentarily as he realized that they were likely about to be harassed simply for sharing the same air.  He sighed.  Things like this happened far less frequently since the monsters returned to the surface, and much of it was because of Frisk’s work as ambassador.  Unfortunately, the incidents – though few and far between – still cropped up frequently enough to be a problem and to scare some monsters off of the streets in certain cities.

The smile was still on Frisk’s face as she faced the man, though she stopped a fair distance away.  “Hi,” she greeted, a hesitant tone to her voice that Sans could clearly hear.  “Can I help you with something?”

The man took a step closer, head lowered as if he couldn’t even bear to look her in the eye as he spoke.  “What are you doing with that…that _thing_?”   He took another step and Frisk saw the glint of a knife in his hand.  She felt her stomach drop as she raised her hands.  She could practically smell the alcohol rolling off of him from even three feet apart and knew that the man was likely looking for a fight.

“He’s my friend,” she said, voice pitching in a plea.  “We’re just out for a walk.  Monsters have been around for a while, you know.  Why don’t you just leave us alone – ”

Before Frisk could finish her thought, the man cut her off with a guttural yell as he raised his knife and threw his weight forward, swinging the blade towards Sans.

Time almost seemed to slow as Sans felt the instinctive, familiar burn of the magic in his left eye and he braced himself to respond to the attack.  A small fry like this human wouldn’t be any trouble for him to handle –

He heard the wet, sickly sound of a blade sinking into flesh, and his breathing stopped.

Sans’ second regret was that in trying to protect Frisk, he had failed to equip her with knowledge that could have saved her life.

She had no idea that Sans was capable of defending himself.

Frisk’s hands curled around the man’s wrist, which was _entirely too close to her body_ because _oh god_ the knife was _sticking out of her chest_ –

The man’s light hair fell into his eyes as he gaped in horror at what he’d done.  “You – why would you – ?”

Frisk gripped his wrist a little tighter, a tiny laugh escaping her bloodied lips.  Some of her blood spattered on his hand with the laughter, and the man tried to recoil in horror.  He was stopped by the tight grip on his wrist and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple.  “I told you,” she choked out.  “He’s my friend.”  Her grip slackened and her knees buckled as she collapsed to the ground.

Sans didn’t recognize the sound that escaped from his own throat as he let the magic tear through his body.  It was a primal yell steeped with the anguish and fury that coursed through him and it only fueled the gushing flow of magic.  The man’s body was engulfed in an eerie blue glow as Sans gripped his soul, practically tearing it out of his body.  He didn’t even take the time to register the color of this _despicable being’s_ spirit as he used his hold on it to bodily throw the man into the nearest tree.

A choked cry tore out of his opponent and he swore he heard something crack, but Sans ignored it.  He tightened his fist and jerked his arm close to his own body, bringing the man nearer to him.  He looked absolutely wrecked simply from being thrown into the tree, and a dangerous, almost sickly smile crossed Sans’ face.

How unfair that Frisk had to suffer, but this man had barely begun to do so.

He felt his blasters appear behind him, all of his rage pouring into them and filling them with the power needed to deliver a fatal blow.  The man’s green eyes filled with tears as he desperately tried to stammer out an apology, begging the skeleton not to harm him.

Sans didn’t have the patience for it.  “on a night like this, a guy like you… ** _should be burning in hell._** ”

The Gaster blasters fired, and the man was dead before Sans could release his soul.  He felt it splinter between his bony fingers, but he only felt empty.

He heard Frisk whimper and his fury evaporated.  He dropped to his knees beside her, gently lifting her head into his lap.

It looked bad.

The bloody wound was almost directly under her heart, and it was very likely that she would bleed out before he was able to summon help.  Already he could feel her life draining and he gripped her shoulders desperately, willing her to stay awake.

“frisk,” he whispered, feeling his eye sockets prickling with tears.  “stay with me.  _please_ , frisk – ”

Her hand weakly reached up to trace along his jawline.  “S-sans,” she managed.  “Did he hurt you – ?”

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry, and the noise he made was somewhere between the two.  “he didn’t touch me.”  It was truth enough, and it was all that Frisk needed to know.  He tore off his jacket, pressing it against the wound as if he could somehow stop the blood from escaping her body.  It began to seep between his fingers and stain his bones, and he cursed.  “frisk,” Sans said, his voice hitching in anguish.  “come on, kiddo, i know you’ve got a SAVE somewhere.  i know you still SAVE.  you’ve got to use it.”

Though she was paling rapidly, Frisk still had enough strength to shake her head.  “No,” she whispered.  “I promised you – ”  She gasped, unable to hide the pain that she was experiencing. 

Sans wanted to kick himself for ever making her give him that vow.  It was years ago, after they had first escaped to the surface, and he had been terrified that Frisk would use her powers for little things that didn’t really matter. 

It would start small, perhaps – a forgotten homework here, a test there.  But eventually, he knew very well that it could lead to a reset.  She had never done it, but she was capable and it didn’t mean she wouldn’t ever do it.

 He had taken her aside, hastily explained the dangers of saving and reloading, and had made her promise to never LOAD.

And Frisk, then ten years old and not wanting to disappoint her best friend, had promised.

Sans felt his tears running down his cheekbones.  “frisk, that doesn’t matter now,” he said, voice cracking as he begged her to understand.  “i don’t care, you have to LOAD – ”

Her eyes drooped, and Sans choked on a sob.  “…can’t do that to you…” she mumbled.  “I don’t know…when it’s from…”

He gripped her face, thumbs stroking over the soft _and_ _oh god rapidly cooling_ skin.  “i don’t care,” he repeated.  “oh god, kid, don’t go – ”  He touched his forehead to hers, praying to a god he didn’t believe in to just _leave her alone_.  “please, frisk.  please, you can’t – can’t do this to us – ”  He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes, continuing to lightly stroke her cheekbones as if it would anchor her to this life.  “you can’t do this to me,” he finally whispered, voice husky and absolutely broken.

Frisk felt his tears splatter on her cheeks as she struggled to cling to consciousness.  Distantly she thought she heard the sound of a gun cocking and an angry voice yelling to _step away from the humans, you **monster** , you killed them both didn’t you **get your hands off of the ambassador**_ and she realized that she would be dead before Sans could even reply and then without her to speak up and protect him, he’d be dead too.

Her last conscious thought was desperately trying to remember where she had last SAVEd.

…

…

…

…

Frisk                                                                                                       48189:53  
Lv 1                                                                                                        New Grillby’s – Exterior

…

…

…

…

When she came back to awareness, she was standing outside of New Grillby’s, shivering against the fall evening.  Her heart beat wildly against her chest as if it was still struggling to pump blood out of a wound that no longer existed, and she felt her hands trembling as she tried to steady all of her bodily functions.

Judging by the clothes she was currently wearing and the state of the weather, it was just a few hours before the attack had happened.  She let out a relieved sigh and Frisk knew that she had gotten lucky – nothing said that the SAVE wouldn’t have been from days or even weeks prior.  She strained to remember what had filled her with DETERMINATION that evening.

A hand lay on her shoulder, startling her out of her thoughts, and she knew who it was without turning to look.  “Sans,” she whispered, turning to face him. 

He looked _awful_.  Before the LOAD, she remembered seeing his face above hers, stricken with anguish as he watched her dying before him.  It was clear that the memory was still fresh in his mind, and he looked at her as if he had seen a ghost.

She supposed, in a way, that he had.

His arms wrapped tightly around her in a fierce embrace, and she returned it instinctively.  Her hands lay on his back, holding him close as she buried her face in his jacket.

They were both _alive_.

He pulled back first and she reluctantly followed suit.  “jeez, kid,” Sans finally whispered.  “you’ve never – all this time?”

 Frisk shook her head, still not trusting her voice.  It had been a promise to Sans, one that she had never intended to break.  She bit her lip, casting her eyes down.  Even now, she had only LOADed because she knew without her that Sans would have been killed by the police who had found the bodies in the park and a skeleton with blood staining his bones.  She shuddered and a tear slipped down her cheek.

She couldn’t let that happen, and she had reached out for the SAVE.

“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered.  “I broke my promise.”  She sounded ten years old again, and Sans felt his heart break at the tone of her voice.

“kid,” he whispered, brushing his fingers against her cheek.  “i…i think we gotta talk about what constitutes an okay time to LOAD, yeah?”  He looked as if he wanted to say more, but he only drew Frisk in against his chest once more, his fingers curling into her hair as he pressed his cheekbone to the top of her head.  “don’t scare me like that again,” he finally said, his voice cracking.  “you’re special, frisk.”

 Though tears stained her cheeks and tears from her friend soaked her hair, Frisk couldn’t help but smile as she buried her face against the comfortable, familiar fabric of Sans’ jacket.  “You are too, Sans.”  Her fingers clutched a little tighter, his hands gripped a little harder, and knowing that she was completely surrounded by the love of her best friend filled Frisk with DETERMINATION.


End file.
